Air-supply station



A. A. EWALD.

AIR SUPPLY STATION.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. g. 1920.

1,427,450. Patented Aug. 29, 1921 4 SHEETS-SHEET1.

A A. EWALD.

AI PPLY SIATION.

APPLICATION FILED my Patenfod Aug". 29, 1922.

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4 SHEETS SHEET 2.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

4 5HEETSSHEET 3.

A. A. EWALD.

AIR SUPPL Y STATION APPLKCATION FILED FEB. 9.

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AIR SUPPLY STATION. APPLICATEON FILED FEB.9, 1920.

n 1ft \X T Q x v Mag 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 Patented Aug. 29, 1922,

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and s oilin MING) .i. EWALD, @F' @AKFIELD, 'WISGGNSEE.

SUPPLY STATIGN.

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Specification-of Letters Eatent; Patented Aug. 239, 1@%%.,

Application filed February a, 1920. Serial it'o. 357,475.

' invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the inflation of motor vehicle and bicycle tires and more particularly to'an inflating device adapted to form a so-called free air station; and my principal object is to provide a station of this character in which the air hose is suspended from a normally raised but downwardly movable a, so as to at all times be readily accessible and to prevent tangling as now commonly occurs when the hoselies onthe floor of the garage, on the sidewalk or street, or is confined in a pit.

'Another object is to provide means for cutting oh the air supply until the arm is lowered by pulling on the hose.

A. still further object is the rovision of an elastic connection for actuating the control tor the air supply means, and for assisting in raising the hose carrying arm.

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Yet another object is to provide a device of the class describedin which all working parts are effectively protected against both tampering and weather conditions.

A still further ohjeotis to provide a device of the character'setforth which may be installed with case on the. ceiling or wall of a garage or other building,'and which will he provided with a swinging memloer adapted to normally hold a suspended length of hose in a position retracted from the line of vehicle travel, and out of contact with the ground, but in a position to be readily grasped and pulled outwardly and downwardly to a position for use, said swinging member being adapted to travel over a' vehicle canopy to carry the hose to both ends and sides of the, vehicle.

Yet another object is to rovide novel coin-controlled means for locking the device against operation until a nickel or other predetermined coin is inserted.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel construction and or rangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device in use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation with parts in vertical section. 1

Fig. 3 is approximately a central vertical section of the entire device.

Figs. 4C and 5 are horizontal sections on the planes indicated by the lines 4.-4: and 5-5 respectively of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 a diagram showing a difierent form of construction.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the device installed on a ceiling.

Fig. Sis a vertical section of the construction shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view similar toFig. 8 but illustrating the manner of supporting the device on a vertical wall.

Fig. 10 a detail vertical'section showing the application of a coin-controlled lock to prevent discharge of air until a coin is in sorted.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged elevation of the coin-controlled lock with parts in section.

Figs. 12 and 13 are horizontal sections on the planes indicated by the lines 12-12 and 13-13 of Fig. 11.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral '1 designates a hollow standard rising from and suitably secured to a hollow base 2 which may well he provided with a door 3 for giving access to its interior. The upper end of the standard 1 carries a hollow head l which is preferably swiveled thereon, and although any preferred swiveled connection could be used, ll prefer to provide said head with a depending neck 5 rotatahly received in the standard 1, and to both re tain the neck inthe standard and limit the rotary motion of the head, l have shown a semi-circular groove 6 in the neck and a a screw 7 passin through the standard and received in sai groove. lhe ends of the groove 6 doact with the screw '8 in limiting the turning of the head.

In most instances, 1 mount an electric light 8 and a globe 9 therefor, upon the h d d, but the principal oflice of the latter is to carry a vertically swinging arm 10 which if preferably of tubular form. One end of the arm 10 is shown extending through an openlid till

- pivoted hy t ing 11 in the head 4 of the standard 1, cap screws 12 or other suitable means being pro vided for pivotally mounting said arm. Any preferred means such as an elastic connection is provided for normally holding the arm in vertical position, but for permitting downward swinging thereof at will, and for illustrative purposes, l have shown a rod 13 and a spring 14:, connected one to the other, with the rod pivoted to the inner end of the arm 10 and the spring adjustably anchored at 14:.

The air hose 15 passes through the standard 1 and the arm 10 and depends from the free end of the latter, which end is preferably curved as shown and provided with a resilient coiled hose protector 16 which prevents cracking of the hose at the point where it leaves the arm. The free end of hose 15 is provided with any suitable connection 17 for application to the usual tire valve. Before this connection may be applied to the valve, it is necessary to first pull the hose 15 downwardly, and this lowers the arm 10, placing the connection 13l under tension. As will be hereinafter described, this movement of the arm 10 serves to operate the control or the air supply means, thus causing the passage or" air through the hose to inflate the tire. When the hose is released, the arm automatically returns to its raised position to hold the hose suspended as seen in dotted lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 2, and when this return of parts takes place, the air supply is automaticall cut off.

in most instances, i prefer that the inner end of arm 10 shall he formed by a casting 18 extending through the opening 11 and he screws or the like 12, and this casting formed with an opening 19 receiving hose 15 of such shape as to prevent injury to said hose during the swinging movement of the arm.

The hose may "from any suitable source of ai oressure. in Fig. 3, a compressor 2O u'iven by an electric motor 21, is shown supplying air to said hose, while in 6 l have diagrammatically illustrated a tank 22 connected with said hose by a pipe 23 and a control valve 2%. W hen the motor driven compressor is used, it may well be located within the hollow base 2 and the control means for the motor is also by preference in said base, said control means being here shown in the form of a switch having a vertically movable arm 25 and a fixed contact 26 with which it coacts, said arm and contact being in circuit with the motor 21 for controlling the latter. spring 27 normally moves the switch arm 25 downwardly away from the contact 26, but a spring is and rod 14- or any other connection which might be used in lieu thereof, is attached to said switch hose 15.

aeavaeo arm and to the arm 10 in such manner as to raise the former and close the switch, when placed under tension by a downward pull on said arm 10. The moment this arm is allowed to again ascend however, spring 27 opens the switch. It will thus be seen that Whenever the hose 15 is pulled to a point at which it may be used for inflating a tire, thecircuit of the motor 21 will be completed, so that said motor operates the compressor 20 and supplies air through the The motor however is automatically thrown out of play by return of the arm to its initial vertical position. The spring 14; is .he primary power which raises arm 10, but the springs 14 and 27 assist.

When the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 6 is used, the valve 24 may be provided with an operating arm 28 to which a spring 29 is attached to normally close said valve, and the connection 13--1 l may then be connected with said arm in such manner as to open the valve when the arm 10 is swung downwardly. This allows the escape of compressed air from the tank 22 to which it may be supplied by any preferred means such as the ordinary automatic compressor. When the arm 10 again swings upwardly, the spring 29 automatically closes the valve to prevent further escape of air.

If desired, the valve 24- may be omitted from the air line and an automatic check used on the end of the hose, as on the usual .ifree air stations.

The invention may be installed wherever required and will be highly etl'icient and in all ways desirable for the purpose intended. To operate the device, it is simply necessary to pull upon the hose 15 to lower the arm 10 to the most convenient position. lhe air pressure is thus automatically supplied to the hose to inflate the vehicle tires, and when moving the hose "from one wheel .to another, the arm in question may swing horizontally, due to the swiveled connection of the head 4 with the standard 1. The moment the hose is released and the arm 10 returns to its vertical position, the air pressure is automatically cut oil.

I prefer in most instances to equip the device with a hose 30 having a spigot 31, said hose being supplied with water from anv suitable source through a pipe line 32 within the standard 1. Automobiles may thus not only be supplied with .iree air for the tires but their radiators may be filled with water.

in Figs. '7, 8 and 9, the numeral 35 designates a vertical tubular standard which may be supported by, a bracket 36, either from a ceiling as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 or from a vertical wall as depicted in Fig.9. The standard 35 carries a swiveled head 37 on its lower end, which head is shown provided with an inverted light 38 which illuminates the area below in order that neevgsao tires may bev easily. inflated at night. The head 37. carries a vertically swinging arm 39 which is shown of tubular form to receive an air hose d0 which may lead through the standard to any suitable pressure supply tank, compressor or the like. The free end of the hose 4:0 carries the usual automatic check .41 which normally prevents a discharge of air but permits such discharge when applied to a tire valve. As in the forms of the device previously described the arm 39 is normally raised, and l have shown a coil spring 42 for this purpose.

Une end of this spring acts against the inner end of the arm 39 While its other end bears against a stop 43 on, the upper end of a rod it, which rod may be adjusted by a nut or the like 45 to vary the tension of the spring.

A chain or the like d6 may beattached to the hose 40 for pulling the same downwardly for use and when this operation takes place, the valve ll may be applied to the tire valves in the usual way. The arm 39 may swing horizontally'to permit inflation of any of the tires. p

The bracket 36 is by preference in the form of a tubular casting having an attaching flange 47 which may be secured to a vertical or horizontal support. The bore of this casing receives the tubular standard 35 when said casting is used vertically as in Figs. 7 and 8, but when the. flange a7 is secured to a vertical wall and the bracket thus positioned horizontally as seen in Fig. 9, standard 35 is received in openings 48 with which the bracket is provided. lln either instance, the set-screw 56 or other suitable means may be employed for locking the standard in the bracket.

In connection with the device just described, ll might employ some form of switch and automatic air compressor controlled by the movement of-the arm 39, but i prefer that the air pressure shall be cbnstantly con tained in the hose l0 and its discharge controlled by the valve 41.

l'n Figs. 10 to 13 l have illustrated a coin-controlled apparatus for locking the arm 39 against descent until the proper coin is inserted, and since I might employ numerous arrangements for producing this result, the following description and the drawings are to be considered as typical only of one way of accomplishing the desired end.

l have shown a vertical rod swiveled at 56 to the rod 13 and forming therewith a positive connection between the locking mechanism and the arm 10 when said mechanism is in active position. lit will thus be seen that the arm cannot be lowered until the rod 55 is released. l have shown a notch 57 near the lower end of the rod 55 to normally receive a sliding bolt 58 suitably mounted in guide portions 59 and 60 of a bracket 61 which may well be located in the base 2. A pivoted latch lever 62 is mounted on the bracket 61 and provided with a nose 63 adapted to engage a shoulderfi l of the bolt 58 and thus lock. the latter in operative position. This lever. however, is provided witha lateral pin or the like 65 extending across a coin chute 66 so that when a nickel or other predetermined coin 67 is dropped into said chute, the latch 62 will be released, allowing the bolt 58 to be retracted by hand.

To prevent the latch 62 from being re-- leased by the coin and then returning promptly to active position before the bolt 58 can be released, I provide a stop 68 on said bolt, said stop serving to limit the movement of the lever 62' when the coin 67 is inserted, so as to trap said coin and cause it to hold the latch 62 in released position, until the bolt is retracted by hand. When this is done, however, the stop moves and permits the latch to complete its movement and dis charge the coin into a suitable coin-box 69 from which the coins may be removed from time to time.

To holdthe bolt 58in released position against the tension of spring 7 0 which serves to project said bolt, I provide a pivoted dog or the like 71 to engage a shoulder 72 on'saicl bolt, a spring 73' being shown for moving said dog to operative position when the bolt 58 is retracted from the notch 57 The mounting of the dog 71 preferably consists of a slot 74 in said dog and the pin 75 received, in said slot and carried by the portion 59 of the bracket 61. This mounting comes into play to allow the dog to tilt upwardly when the rod 55 rises and the lower end of its notch 57 strikes the end 76 of the dog. it is thus insured that the dog shall in no manner interfere with the ascent of the rod 55 and downward movement of the arm 39, after the bolt 58 has once been retracted.

ln addition to performing the function above described, the rod 55 may serve to operate a switch mechanism for the motor 21 which drives the air compressor 20. jlln obtaining this result,'l mount a switch-actuating member 77 in position to be struck and. moved downwardly by the rod 55 when the spring 14 acts to raise the arm which carries the hose. l have shown the member 77 pivoted at 78 upon a part of the bracket 61 and provided with a spring 79 for raising it when the rod 55 is moved upwardly. l pward movement of member 77 is adapted to close the switch while downward movement thereof opens said switch. It will thus be seen that when the hose has been pulled downwardly for use, after releasing the coin-controlled locking means, the switch will be closed to supply current to the compressor 21. The moment the hose is allowed to ascend to its normal position however, the switch automatically breaks the circuit.

linesof a street and allow said connection to be carried outwardly by a downwardly swinging movement. of the arm over and around a vehicle in the street.

4. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising the combination with a standard and an-air supply connection, including a hose at its delivery end, a valved head adapted to engage a tire nipple, means for normally supporting said hose and valved head in close proximity to the standard, said means being also adapted for yieldingly supporting the outer portion of said hose and valved head in a suspended position at a distance from the standard and along difi'erent radial vlinesto facilitate the adjustment of the valved head to tire nipples carried by the wheels of a vehicle adjacent to said station.

5. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising the combination with a support, of an arm connected therewith and adapted to swing both vertically and laterally, an air supply connection extendlng from the support along and beyond the end of said arm and having a flexible portion provided with an extremity adapted to be fitted to a tire nipple, and yielding means for automatically swinging the arm to a raised position with the extended end por-- tion of the air supply connection in close proximity to the support and. in a position to be manually grasped, to draw the supporting arm outwardly and downwardly over a vehicle located beyond the normal position of the arm, and its supply connection, whereby, when the supply connection is released, it will be held out of contact with the earth and returned to its normal raised position out of the path. of the vehicle.

6. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising-a. tubular standard having near its upper-end an opening, a normally raised but'downwardly movable tubular arm. extendingat one end through said opening and pivotally mounted therein, an air supply hose extending through sald standard and arm, and depending from the outer end of the arm, and means in said standard connected with said arm for normally raising the latter.

7. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising a standard, a normally raised but downwardly movable arm pivoted to said standard, and an: air supply hose depending from the free end of said arm; together with air supply means for said hose, means connected with and actuated by said arm for controllingl said tupply1 mfeatrlils, e out et en 0 e' and a valved head at t hose for engagement with and actuation by a tire nipple.

8. An air supply station for motor vehicles com rising a standard, a normally raised but ownwardly movable arm pivoted to said standard, and an air supply hose depending from the free end of said arm; together with an electrically driven compressor for supplying air to said hose, a switch in circuit with the driving means of said compressor, and means connecting said switch with said arm for controlling the former from the latter. 1

9. An air supply station for motor ve-' hicles comprising a standard, a normally raised but downwardly movable arm pivoted to said standard, and an air supply hose depending from the free end of said arm; together with an electrically driven compressor for supplying air to said hose, a switch in circuit with the driving means of said compressor, and means connecting said switch with said arm for controlling the former from the latter and for assisting in raising said arm.

10. An air supply station for motor vehicles comprising a standard, a normally raised but downwardly movable arm pivoted to said standard, and an air supply hose depending from the free end of said arm; together with an electrically driven compressor for supplying air to said hose, a switch in circuit with the driving means of said compressor and including a control member movable upwardly to close the switch, a spring for normally depressing said control member to open the switch, and an elastic connection between said control member and said arm for assisting in raising said arm and for closing the switch when said arm is swung downwardly.

11. An air supply station comprisin a normally raised but downwardly mova 1e. pivoted arm, and an air supply hose depending from the free end of said arm;-together with air supply means connected with said hose, control means for the air supply, and an elastic connection betweensaid control means and said arm for both actuating the former and assisting in raising the latter.

12. An air supply station comprising a normally raised but downwardly movable pivotedarm of tubular form, and air hose extending through and depending from the free end of said arm, and a resilient coiled protector secured'to said free end of said arm and surrounding said hose.

13. A tire inflating station comprising a hollow standard, and coin-controlled means with respect thereto, counter balancing acting on said rod for normally locking the means on one end of said arm and a supply device against operation. hose carried by said standard and by the 10 15. A device of the character described other end of said arm. 5 including a standard, a swivel bracket on In testimony whereof I have hereunto set said standard, an arm pivoted to said bracket my hand. disposed for vertical swinging movement ARNO A, EWALD. 

